Tributes from across the globe have poured in for Prof Christopher Balogun-Lynch, a pioneering obstetrician and gynaecological surgeon who died peacefully on 15 June at the age of 81. His son, Dr Josh Balogun-Lynch, said the outpouring of messages made "a difficult time a lot easier" and that his father would have been "proud and pleased" - while probably underestimating the sheer scale of his impact.

Prof Balogun-Lynch, born in Sierra Leone on 1 October 1944, took a scenic route to medicine: he first graduated in law from the University of Oxford before training at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. He is best known for developing the B-Lynch brace suture, a technique for severe postpartum haemorrhage that has helped save countless mothers' lives worldwide. He also helped build Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) from the ground up and founded the Myrtle Peach Trust Charity for cervical and ovarian cancer prevention.

His son, now a GP, recalled the surreal moment he saw his own surname pop up as an exam question: "It was a strange thing to see my own surname appear as an EMQ option in my fifth-year exam paper." Dr Ian Reckless, MKUH's chief medical officer, called him "an inspiring force for good," while consultant Nandini Gupta noted he was "rightly celebrated internationally" for his work - including that suture, which is still in use today.